Re: NEWS for debian-boot
On 17 Jan 1999, Adam Di Carlo wrote:
>We're preparing for the 2.1.5 release of the boot-floppies package,
>which will re-introduce the tecra kernels for x86 (aw!). Also, the
>package pre-selections mechanism has been made
>cross-architecture-aware, and we have patched in m68k fixes.
Ok, good. The tecra reintroduction is not good news, but is not a problem
- I'll change the CD scripts back to using it on disc 2 for release.
>There is still much work to be done on the Install Manual, so there
>will be at least one release after 2.1.6 before freeze (if only to get
>the new set of documentation). Since the non-x86 boot-floppies are
>rather lagging here, I'm sure there will be more than one, but I don't
>speak for Enrique.
>
>There are two main areas of concern for me with slink, aside from the
>obvious stuff that has to be done. The first is that I don't see
>visible signs that the alpha and sparc people are working on the
>boot-floppies or the CD set. (I could also use heavy documentation
>help from these camps). I hope I'm overlooking actual activity, but I
>doubt it.
If we're going to release for all the arches (I've already been told by
Joel Klecker that powerpc is not being frozen this time) then I need help
(and preferably patches) to make install/boot CDs on
m68k/atari
m68k/mac
alpha
i386 is covered and I have numerous success reports for this, including my
own testing. sparc should be covered for boot at least - Eric Delaunay
<delaunay@lix.polytechnique.fr> sent me patches that I trust will work. I
can't check this myself unfortunately, due to lack of non-i386 hardware.
And Chris Lawrence <quango@watervalley.net> has promised m68/amiga patches
soon.
>The second major issue I see, which I hope we will resolve soon, is a
>lack of coordination between the CD team, the boot floppies, the
>Debian archive maintainers, Bob Hillard (doing the upgrade notes), and
>the Debian webmaster. An argument, I think, for an ecumenical Release
>Tiger Team or some such?
Sounds good to me. There are a couple of things that would help right now
and in future:
a) the list of pre-selected packages used in the installation can be used
by slink_cd to generate the list of packages it will push onto disc 1. Is
this posted on the debian-boot list, or if not can it be mailed to me when
it's updated please?
b) some of the ports still appear to be (or at least were when I checked
on Friday) quite a way behind on the recompile front, particularly on
non-free and non-US. I know we have limited cycles available for this work
- are many packages still being updated for i386? If so, we need to go
completely frozen apart from critical bug fixes NOW. Until things are more
consistent, it's difficult to say whether or not the non-i386 images I'm
producing are any use at all.
For the general issues, is it maybe time for a new debian-release mailing
list? Or should we flood debian-devel and hope to get more interest from
the other developers?
And is much thought being put into bo->slink upgrades? I tried one on one
of my machines a few weeks back and struggled a lot. In the end I did
bo->hamm->slink. Can somebody update the upgrade script so it will cope
bo->slink? At the moment, lots of the packages it lists have hardcoded
versions that match hamm. I would offer, but I've barely found time for
slink_cd lately and I don't want to take on more than I can handle right
now - work is getting very busy...
--
Steve McIntyre, CURS CCE, Cambridge, UK. stevem@chiark.greenend.org.uk
Getting a SCSI chain working is perfectly simple if you remember that there
must be exactly three terminations: one on one end of the cable, one on the
far end, and the goat, terminated over the SCSI chain with a silver-handled
knife whilst burning *black* candles. --- Anthony DeBoer
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